Ever since it was announced that a360media would shutter the weekly print edition of Soap Opera Digest, subscribers have been clamoring to find out when the magazine would print its final issue. Sadly, Soap Opera Network can confirm that the current November 13, 2023 issue, on sale now, is officially the final weekly print issue of the long-running publication.
Following the discontinuation of the weekly print magazine, digital subscribers should reach out to their provider for information on refunds and/or other accommodations as there will not be a weekly digital edition of the magazine published. As of October 31, 2023, the Soap Opera Digest staff has fully transitioned to an online only environment with news, interviews and more published on soapoperadigest.com. Features from recent issues are also being published to the site.
With its cover highlighted by the annual November Sweeps preview for the four remaining daytime dramas, the final weekly print issue of Soap Opera Digest features news on Darin Brooks and his exit from “The Bold and the Beautiful” as Wyatt and the return of “Days of our Lives” star Greg Rikaart (Leo) to “The Young and the Restless” as Kevin. The magazine also includes a spread on Camryn Grimes (Mariah, “The Young and the Restless”), the final “Take Five” with Kimberlin Brown (Sheila, “The Bold and the Beautiful”) and columnist Carolyn Hinsey’s stating her opinion that soaps should always bring back actors in their original roles, noting, “it’s like a warm, soapy hug.”
The final weekly print issue was formally announced via a notice page on the Soap Opera Digest website, which previously allowed subscribers to order the magazine and/or update their subscription information. The message reads: “Unfortunately, Soap Opera Digest is no longer being published as a weekly magazine, effective with the November 13th, 2023 issue. Please rest assured that as soon as more details are available, we will be notifying all of our subscribers.”
With the latest update to subscribers, this marks the second time that the magazine staff have directly addressed the shutdown of the weekly print magazine. On Monday, October 30, a note from the staff message was published to the website, which at the time only noted that the magazine would be “publishing at a reduced frequency moving forward.” In a statement released to Variety, a360media noted that Soap Opera Digest would publish four special print issues per year going forward.
As of June 30, 2023, Soap Opera Digest had a paid and verified circulation of just 43,743, according to the Alliance for Audited Media (AAM), the “recognized leader in publisher audits across digital, print and out-of-home channels.” By comparison, throughout the 1990s, the magazine had a circulation in excess of one million. By 2010, the number had dropped to just under 500,000 and under 100,000 by 2019.
Out of the 195 publications audited by AAM, there were 30 publications that had not shared their publisher statements. That said, Digest ranked 154th out of 165 publications that did release their figures, only beating out the likes of Elle Quebec, Conquer Magazine, Diabetes Care, Vero and Les Affaires Plus, among others, in terms of circulation totals.
The top 35 selling magazines with a circulation in excess of one million included the likes of People, Reader’s Digest, Good Housekeeping, Us Weekly, Vanity Fair, Vogue, Time, New Yorker, Sports Illustrated,National Geographic, Men’s Health, Women’s Health and even Elle, among others.
In April 2020, Bauer Media, now owned by a360media, shuttered the print editions of Soaps In Depth, which released weekly issues as either ABC Soaps In Depth or CBS Soaps In Depth. The brand’s name continues as a digital website sharing news and interviews with stars from the four remaining American soap operas – “The Bold and the Beautiful,” “Days of our Lives,” “General Hospital” and “The Young and the Restless.”
Soap Opera Digest was launched in 1975 by founders Angela Shapiro and Jerome Shapiro.